8 Berkshire Hathaway companies that Warren Buffett is handing over to Greg Abel

The fast food chain, famous for its burgers and frozen treats — specifically the Blizzard sundae — was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 1998. Today, Dairy Queen has 6,800 locations worldwide, about 4,500 of which are in the U.S. DQ restaurants pulled in an estimated $4.6 billion in the U.S. in 2022, according to Statista.

Berkshire acquired this Bowling Green, Kentucky-based clothing brand in 2002 for about $835 million. Though Fruit of the Loom is arguably best known for its undies, the company also manufactures T-shirts, outerwear, and sportswear, plus sports equipment through its subsidiary, Spalding. Fruit of the Loom employs more than 30,000 people worldwide.

Abel began working at CalEnergy in 1992. That firm later acquired MidAmerican Energy, and Abel became the company’s president. Two years later, MidAmerican Energy was acquired by Berkshire and renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy. The utility company is based in Des Moines, Iowa, where Abel now lives. It employs about 24,000 people worldwide and reported $25.6 billion in revenue in 2023.

NetJets was the first private business jet charter in the world when it was founded as Executive Jet Airways in 1964. Berkshire acquired the company for $725 million in 1998 and renamed it NetJets four years later. Today, the firm owns the world’s largest fleet of private jets, with over 750 aircraft in operation around the world.

Abel will soon top the coppertop. Berkshire acquired Duracell in 2016 by exchanging the shares it owned in Procter & Gamble (PG) for ownership of the battery maker. The century-old, Chicago-headquartered firm employs 8,000 people and pulls in $2 billion in annual revenue, according to Fortune.

Based in Buffett’s home city of Omaha, Nebraska, jewelry retailer Borsheims has been around since it was founded by a Norwegian immigrant in 1870. Buffett acquired a majority stake in the company for an undisclosed amount in 1989, and today, the company sells a variety of luxury jewelry, watches, and other accessories both in person and online. Borsheims’ 62,000-foot Omaha store is the location for Berkshire’s shareholder-only events at its annual meeting.

Among Abel’s charges will be BNSF, the largest freight railroad in the U.S. The firm owns 33,400 miles of track spanning 28 states, including three transcontinental routes. BNSF, formed by the merger of two railway companies in 1995, was publicly traded until Buffett acquired all its shares in 2010 and took it private. Its headquarters are in Fort Worth, Texas, and the company employs about 36,000 people.

Because Abel was chairman of Berkshire’s non-insurance companies, he didn’t oversee GEICO — but as CEO, now he will. Berkshire has owned the automotive insurance giant since Buffett acquired all its shares in 1996, three years before the company introduced its beloved gecko mascot. Founded in 1936, GEICO today has 40,000 employees and insures more than 28 million vehicles. It made $7.8 billion in underwriting profit in 2024.